About 40 representatives from the Austrian Academy of Sciences visited AI Factory Austria AI:AT to learn about EuroHPC access, AI services, and collaboration with startups at the hub.
Fotocredit: APA-Fotoservice / AI:AT
A delegation of about forty people from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) visited the AI:AT Coworking Hub in Vienna-St. Marx. The delegation was led by Mag. Hubertus Schmid-Schmidsfelden and Dr. Bernd Wachmann. The visit provided insights into the work of AI Factory Austria AI:AT, Austria’s hub in the European network of AI Factories.
The discussion focused on three questions: How can research institutions, startups, companies, and public institutions gain access to European supercomputing resources? What role does the ÖAW play as a consortium partner of AI:AT? And how can scientific excellence and concrete AI applications be brought together more quickly?
The ÖAW is part of the Austria-wide AI:AT consortium and contributes its research expertise to a network that brings together AI infrastructure, data and AI services, training, guidance on trustworthy AI, and matchmaking. The ÖAW currently has three staff members—Dr. Katharina Röck, Dr. Daniel Lehner, and Linus Ersing—working at AI:AT, where they take on key roles in the areas of ecosystem development and training.
AI:AT supports organisations at the point where initial ideas, data, or prototypes encounter new requirements: in terms of computing power, technical scalability, reliable implementation, and access to suitable partners. Until the Austrian AI supercomputer goes into operation in 2027, AI:AT is already facilitating access to existing EuroHPC systems such as LUMI, Leonardo, MareNostrum 5, and JUPITER.
“AI is a field of research and technology transfer in which scientific excellence, trustworthy infrastructure, and practical applications must be considered together. AI Factory Austria serves as a vital bridge between research, industry, and public administration.”
Prof. Heinz Faßmann, President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
Another focus of the visit was engaging with startups and coworking teams at the hub. Young AI teams and research partners are working here on applications in areas such as enterprise AI, media and generative AI, health and bio-applications, industrial AI, robotics, and data infrastructure. Among the companies presented were Dobriy AI, Leibniz Mechanics, AIleen Health, and Newsroom AI.
The visit thus also demonstrated what the AI:AT Coworking Hub stands for: AI projects should not only be presented, but also further developed toward practical application with the help of expertise, computing resources, training, and research partners.
“Discussions with startups clearly demonstrate why AI:AT is needed. Many teams have strong ideas and data, but the path to scalable, trustworthy applications requires infrastructure, technical guidance, and a strong network. That’s exactly why we’re bringing together research, supercomputing, and implementation in one place with partners like the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).”
Dr. Karl Kugler, Co-Lead of AI Factory Austria
“Ambitious AI projects require more than just good ideas: they require access to high-performance infrastructure, clear processes, and technical support. This is exactly where AI:AT comes in. We help organizations put European supercomputing resources to practical use while also laying the groundwork for AI-optimised capabilities in Austria.”
Dr. Markus Stöhr, Co-Lead der AI Factory Austria
About AI Factory Austria AI:AT
AI Factory Austria AI:AT is Austria’s national AI Factory within the framework of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. It is jointly managed by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and Advanced Computing Austria (ACA) and implemented by a nationwide consortium that includes the Austrian Academy of Sciences. AI:AT combines access to European—and, in the future, Austrian—AI-optimised high-performance infrastructure with a physical hub, services, training, and ecosystem matchmaking.
The initiative is co-funded by the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No. 101253078. The JU is supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program and by Austria (BMIMI/FFG).
